Australia-wide Digital Upgrade

An Australia-wide upgrade to SBS's digital television service will take place on Thursday 29th January, 2009.

This may result in some viewers being unable to view SBS services on the normal channels.

The following information has been compiled to explain what viewers should do if they experience disruptions to their digital service.

SBS is pleased to announce an Australia wide upgrade to their Digital service on Thursday, 29 January 2009.

The installation of this state of the art equipment will permit SBS to increase the resolution of its High Definition programs and provide a 7 day Electronic Program Guide.

Most importantly this upgrade will allow SBS the capability to provide different services into metropolitan and regional areas - an increase of 7 to 12 markets across the country.

As a result of this work, some viewers may lose their ability to view SBS services on the normal channels.

If viewers experience disruption, SBS recommends they rescan their digital television or digital set-top-box which should rectify any problems.Viewers still experiencing disruptions can call SBS on 1800 500 727 for advice.

It is recommended that all viewers capable of viewing High Definition programs rescan their receiver.

The table below outlines the new logical channel numbers for all of SBS’s television services. These numbers will take effect at 5.00am on 29 January, 2009.

Service

LogicalChannelNumber

SBS

3

SBS HD

30

SBS 2

32

SBS 3

33

SBS 4

34

Radio 1

38

Radio 2

39

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Rescan?SBS is reconfiguring the transport streams to its digital transmitters Australia wide. It is upgrading its play-out system which will result in SBS having separate services for major cities and regional areas.

Who will be affected?All SBS digital services Australia wide.

When do you have to do it?Thursday, 29 January 2009 after 5.00am AEDST.

How do you do an Automatic Rescan?To do an Automatic Rescan you need to:• Press “Menu” on your remote control, then • Go to “Installation” or “Setup”, then• Go to “Automatic” or “Manual Search”, select “Automatic” then follow the instructions.

This will rescan all your TV channels and you should be able to receive SBS again.

What is a Manual Rescan?A rescan of one channel only. This will not impact other channels.

This will rescan all SBS channels and you should be able to receive SBS services again. If necessary, check your television manual for how to scan or search for channels.

What to do if the Rescan does not work?If you do the rescan and still cannot receive SBS, please call your specific TV or set top box manufacturers, most of their contact details are provided below or you can call SBS on 1800 500 727.

I did a Rescan but nothing happened?See if there are any services appearing on channel 350 or above.

My High Definition service changed recently. Why?SBS changed the HD resolution from 576P to 720P

What services should I be able to get?If you have a Standard Definition Receiver or Set Top Box you should have the following services:SBSSBS2SBS3SBS4SBS Radio 1SBS Radio 2

If you have a High Definition Receiver or Set Top Box you should also receive SBS HD.

The SBS services break up or the audio breaks up. What should I do?Call SBS Transmission Services on 1800 500 727 for advice between Monday to Friday 9am-5pm AEDST or email
technical@sbs.com.au.

Only one of my TV sets has lost SBS. Why?Many receivers and set top boxes automatically update their internal channel lists. These do not need to be rescanned.

My Analogue TV has lost SBS.Do you live in a block of units or on a cabled estate? If so you may need to contact the Body Corporate or Manager to get the distribution system rescanned.

If you have your own antenna, call SBS on 1800 500 727 (as the local transmitter may be having trouble).

For further assistance, please contact your set-top box manufacturer:

Acer Australia

1300 362 328

AWA Australia

1300 369 870

Bang & Olufsen

- Sydney

02 92666259

- Melbourne

03 93857739

- Adelaide

08 82123265

- Perth

08 9210 4116

- Brisbane

07 3358 6811

Beyond Wiz

1300 889 803

Bush (Sydney)

02 9714 3451

Celestial

1300 796 688

Conia

1300 726 642

Dick Smith

1300 660 054

Digital Products Group (Topfield Set Top Box)

1300 889 803

Digitec Electronics (DGTEC)

1800 189 941

Grundig (Sydney)

02 9714 3434

Hitachi

1800 448 224

LG Electronics

1800 643 156

MTV

1300 366 155

NEC

13 16 32

Panasonic

13 26 00

Phillips

1300 651 993

Pioneer

1800 988 268

Radio Rentals

13 19 41

Samsung

1300 362 603

Sanyo

1300 360 230

Sharp

1300 135 022

Sony

1300 137 669

Strathfield Car Radio

13 11 77

Strong

1900 820 030

Teac

1800 656 700

Tevion

1300 726 642

Toshiba

1800 252 111

Technical Information

In order to better cater for specific audiences throughout Australia, SBS is upgrading its play-out system. The primary change is a move from broadcasting to 7 different markets to broadcasting to 12 different markets across Australia. The new equipment being installed also permits SBS to increase the resolution of its High Definition program and to provide 7 day Electronic Program Guide information.

This change has many implications for us as a national broadcaster. We can now more closely tailor the programming and advertisements to suit the locations and needs of audiences in the respective market areas.

Technically, this change involves variations to our Transport Stream IDs as the 12 markets are introduced, as well as some modifications to our Service IDs. In the past SBS HD services had the lowest Service ID in each transport stream. The HD services will be moved so that they are no longer the lowest Service IDs in each stream.

This change also allows us to overcome a problem posed by a small number of set top boxes which, upon the detection of a change in the Transport ID, search for the lowest Service ID in the stream to restore the service. In the past standard definition boxes in this situation found the HD service and hence leave the viewer with a blank screen. In future they will default to the SBS standard definition service.

The HD transmission format has already changed from 576p to 720p.

The new Transport IDs and service IDs are as follows.

Transport IDs:

Transport Stream

Sydney

Melbourne

Perth

Brisbane

Adelaide

Regional NSW

ID

768

784

800

816

832

848

Transport Stream

Darwin

Regional VIC

Hobart

Regional SA

Regional WA

Regional QLD

ID

864

880

896

912

928

944

Service IDs:

Service

Sydney

Melbourne

Perth

Brisbane

Adelaide

Regional NSW

SBS

769

785

801

817

833

849

SBS News

770

786

802

818

834

850

SBS 2

772

787

803

819

835

851

SBS 3

773

788

804

820

836

852

SBS HD

774

789

805

821

837

853

Radio 1

782

798

814

830

846

862

Radio 2

783

799

815

831

847

863

Service

Darwin

Regional VIC

Hobart

Regional SA

Regional WA

Regional QLD

SBS

865

881

897

913

929

945

SBS News

866

882

898

914

930

946

SBS 2

867

883

899

915

931

947

SBS 3

868

884

900

916

932

948

SBS HD

869

885

901

917

933

949

Radio 1

878

894

910

926

942

958

Radio 2

879

895

911

927

943

959

In summary:

At 5.00am (AEDST) on 29 January 2009, new transport streams will apply in Tasmania, Regional WA, Regional SA, Regional Qld and Regional Victoria. All others will have service ID changes to the HD and SBS 2 services and a new service ID for SBS 3.